“Why do you look so disappointed?” Anna asked Anton.

  “I thought we’d be arriving on some tropical isnd with beautiful beaches, green vegetation, hot, humid weather, and people with smiles on their faces wearing traditional isnder clothes. Instead, the pce looked gray and gloomy. And it’s cold!” Anton compined.

  Anna shrugged and told his brother that she had read what the isnds of Norbuna were like, so she wasn’t expecting anything else.

  “At least we’ll be able to buy a lot of things from here since, according to what I’ve read, the people here were descendants of mages, and that meant that there should be a lot of magical items and potions,’ Anna said while observing the surrounding area.

  The streets were just like the streets of some of the cities they had passed through when they were traveling in Rendindura, so it almost seemed like they just returned to their home continent. The buildings were a combination of stone and wood, just like any other buildings one would find in the city of Leminthor or Ruandelle.

  They arrived at a rather rge hotel, and Anton told his family that he would like to explore the isnds alone. He reiterated that if they wanted to do the same thing, they had to be in a group surrounded by the wolves since he was almost sure that the assassins from the Undead Coalition would make their move here on the isnds. Anders nodded and told him to be careful, and after that, Anton memorized the location of the hotel and then began walking down the streets.

  When Anton looked back, Devon and Anna were both looking at him in envy, and he teased them both by waving at them jovially. There were many shops on the street that he was walking by, and Anton thought that he might be in some sort of merchant district. The shops consisted of different things like shops for clothing, accessories, shoes, hats, and even general groceries, but there were an unusual number of magic shops that sold magical weapons, armor, robes, spellbooks, and other enchanted items that it almost like he was like in the world of Harry Potter in Diagon Alley.

  Anton didn’t enter any shops since he wanted to explore the yout of the nd first. He noticed that the Norbunans, or whatever they’re called, were rather reserved people. They had straight faces, and their clothing reflected their straight-ced personalities. The women were wearing long-sleeved clothing with skirts up to their ankles, and with no exception, all of them were wearing hats, and the men were the same. The clothing did look fashionable, and Anton knew that he was affected by the movies that he had seen with the same clothing, like Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and more than likely, the women in the family who had seen the movies would be able to make the same comparison.

  The next street was mostly the same, but this one consisted of shops that sold more normal things like sculptures and paintings, and there was even a flower shop.

  He continued his exploration, and even though he was clearly a foreigner because he was wearing different clothes from the locals, the people just simply looked at him and moved on. Normally, Anton would have been approached by a local youth offering to be his guide for some coins, but this time, they were weirdly not present.

  Anton thought that maybe because the people of this pce had a reserved behavior and since he was told by Anna that most people here were descendants of mages, maybe they had extraordinary pride that prevented them from doing something so lowly as being a guide, but then when he arrived at the next street, he knew that he was mistaken.

  A group of children approached Anton, offering to guide him through the whole isnds, and when he looked around, he saw the clothes that the people were wearing were now more normal, like simple tunic shirts and pants. He then now realized that he was probably walking through the rich or noble section of this local city.

  He declined the children’s offer to be his guide since he wanted to explore the city on his own, like some sort of mini adventure.

  Anton finally decided to return to the hotel after he reached what probably the people would term the slums. He did encounter some people who tried to rob him, but those people ran away immediately after he showed some simple spells. He didn’t even need to touch them with the spells since just a simple tiny ball of fire hovering above his hands almost scared the robbers to death.

  When Anton decided to return to the hotel, he discovered that he was lost, and he felt a bit embarrassed. He didn’t want to bother anyone by asking for directions, so he tried to do what Gandalf did when the Fellowship was lost in the mines of Moria, which was to follow his nose. Since the hotel was near the ocean, he reckoned that he could follow the way with the strongest smell of the ocean, and that should bring him nearer the hotel, but after about an hour of walking, he knew that it was the wrong move.

  Anton became hopelessly lost, but he wasn’t worried since he had the st option of just flying above and looking for the hotel that way, besides, being lost was an adventure in of itself because it allowed him to truly explore the pce.

  At least, away from the first few streets that he walked through, the behavior of the people was normal, and it dispelled the “Twilight Zone” feeling.

  People from the poorer section began pointing at him because of the robes that he was wearing, and he almost wanted to go somewhere and change his clothes to more normal ones. When lunchtime arrived, he did ask the locals that was on the street the best restaurant that he could go to, and when the people heard his questions, a couple of kids ran to him and offered to be his guide for a few copper coins. Anton had no choice but to submit to the inevitable and hired the two kids, who were brothers, to be his guide.

  “My name is Tomas, and this is Renor. Do you have a budget range?” Tomas, Anton’s new guide, asked.

  Anton simply shook his head and told the brothers that it didn’t matter what price range as long as the food was the best. He could see the gleam in the two kids’ eyes, who looked like they were around eleven or twelve years old.

  “I know the best pce! I always wanted to try their food since people said that the taste was heavenly!” Tomas said, and both kids were almost drooling.

  Anton was amused that the children took it for granted that he would treat both of them in the restaurant that they were going to.

  After about an hour of walking, Anton recognized the street that they went to, which was where his hotel was, and that solved his problem of being lost. When he entered the huge restaurant, he ughed when he saw his family gathered at a huge table that was prepared for them, so he immediately went there.

  “Anton, you’re back! Who are those snot-nosed brats!” Anna excimed.

  “Hey! You’re a brat yourself!” Renor loudly said, which caused Anton and the others to ugh.

  “They’re my guides. I became lost when I was exploring, and they helped me get back here,” Anton said, then joined everyone.

  Without being invited, Tomas and Renor joined them as well and began looking at the menu that was still on the table, which made Anton ugh.